Chapter 777: Immortal Golden Lion

The Nascent Soul Realm cultivator called Brother Miao did not follow the brocade-clad young man's line of conversation. Instead, he glanced at Fang Chen and then smiled faintly at the young man in brocade.

"Wu, since we're all heading to the Pitu Ruins together, it's fate that brought us together. Let's not let something trivial upset the harmony," he said gently.

The brocade-clad young man furrowed his brow slightly, then smiled faintly and said, "Brother Miao, you're right. I've been too petty. I'll drink a cup to punish myself for my narrow-mindedness.

Haha.

"

He lifted the teacup on the table and drank it in one go.

Miao smiled and turned to Fang Chen. "Fellow Daoist, Steward Wang will be here shortly. Why don't you come sit with us and have some tea from the Azure Blue Island?"

"Then I won't be polite," said Fang Chen

He nodded lightly and sat down across from the Nascent Soul cultivator.

The brocade-clad young man glanced at Fang Chen and smiled. "You've got some backbone, kid. But as Brother Miao just said, I shouldn't have let something so trivial bother me. Although you didn't give me face, I shouldn't hold it against you over such a small matter."

Brother Miao smiled. "You don't need to take it too seriously. Brother Wu is the young master of the Forbidden Demon Island, so it's only natural that he has a bit of a temper. But he is luckily a reasonable person."

"I'm Miao Yan, a disciple of the Immortal Golden Lion from the Open Yang Continent of Northern Dipper," the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator introduced himself. "May I know how to address you, Fellow Daoist?"

The Open Yang Continent? The Immortal Golden Lion? I recall seeing this name on the Emperor Rankings. Their ranking wasn't bad either.

Fang Chen smiled faintly without revealing his thoughts. "I am Dongfang Haojie, a mere wandering cultivator. I am afraid I have embarrassed myself in front of you all. You must feel like laughing already."

The brocade-clad young man laughed. "I do feel like laughing indeed. But gathering 200 mid-grade spirit stones as a wandering cultivator is something worth boasting about. Not bad, not bad."

The cultivators watching couldn't help but feel disdainful of Fang Chen when they saw how he let the brocade-clad young man mock him.

The brocade-clad young man was slightly disappointed that Fang Chen didn't react, and the smile on his face faded a bit.

After some casual conversation, the topic gradually shifted to the Immortal Golden Lion.

The brocade-clad young man sighed. "Brother Miao, you're so fortunate to have Immortal Golden Lion always watching over you. You will always be safe wherever you go. No one dares to target you. Unlike me, who's always being followed around by people, openly or covertly."

"Brother Wu, you've misunderstood. The Immortal Golden Lion isn't the type of person to always watch over his disciples. It's only because we are sincere in our hearts that we're blessed with his protection when we encounter danger," Miao Yan replied with a faint smile.

After listening to their conversation, Fang Chen began to understand that the Immortal Golden Lion they were referring to was most likely a big shot from the Incense Sect.

In the Central Continent, the Incense Sect wasn't considered a mainstream faction. To the Void Immortal Sword Sect, it was nothing more than an unimportant school.

However, in reality, one of the five founders of Central Continent's major sects might be from the Incense Sect, but no one knew their true identity until now.

"Little Mirror, what level of cultivation is an Immortal Sovereign of Northern Dipper?"

Mirror of the Universe answered, "He's comparable to an Immortal King, in the Ascension Stage. But those in Northern Dipper call them Immortal Sovereigns, while over in the Celestial Heaven, they refer to experts at that level as Immortal Emperors. It's actually quite amusing. If it were in the past, they would definitely have been reprimanded by the Immortal Realm for calling themselves that.

"Mere mortal cultivators, not even at the lowest level of immortality, daring to call themselves kings and emperors.... What a joke."

Fang Chen didn't respond, as Steward Wang had already arrived.

Steward Wang, with a cheerful smile, approached the group. "Is everyone ready?"

When they nodded, his smile widened. "Alright, let's set off."

The group boarded Steward Wang's immortal vessel, and they left the Azure Blue Island. The journey would take several months.

Neither Miao Yan nor the brocade-clad young man had been to the Pitu Ruins. They had initially thought that the ruins were near the Azure Blue Island, but were surprised to learn it was much farther than expected.

"Steward Wang, how much longer until we reach the Pitu Ruins? And... the cultivator from our Forbidden Demon Island... has he caught up yet?"

The brocade-clad young man, unable to hold back any longer, took the opportunity to ask Steward Wang.

Steward Wang answered, "Your name is Wu Tai, right? The young master of Forbidden Demon Island? With your status, it's no surprise that many experts are secretly protecting you. Don't worry, they are waiting for you back at the Azure Blue Island. Even the Forbidden Demon Island must follow the rules of the Golden Immortal Sect."

Wu Tai forced a smile. "I see...."

His gaze shifted. When he saw Fang Chen standing by the deck, enjoying the scenery, he walked over and asked, "Brother Dongfang, what kind of opportunities are you seeking in the Pitu Ruins?"

"It's not sure what we'll run into. Whatever comes my way, that's what I'll encounter," Fang Chen replied casually.

"Seems like you haven't made any preparations at all. How about this? Once we reach the Pitu Ruins, you follow my orders, and I can have the Forbidden Demon Island's people look after you," Wu Tai said with a smile.

"Isn't it just you?" Fang Chen replied.

Wu Tai smiled, a trace of subtle contempt flashing in his eyes. "You don't know much, do you? Only Steward Wang is here with us from the Golden Immortal Sect, but the Golden Immortal Sect isn't just about Steward Wang. Aside from me, there are quite a few others from the Forbidden Demon Island who will be going into the Pitu Ruins.

"To be honest, I visited several other places before coming to the Azure Blue Island, but they were all full. In the end, I had no choice but to come here.

"So, there will be at least a hundred people entering the ruins this time. If the Golden Immortal Sect's disciples also join in, it will be even more crowded."

Fang Chen had thought that the Golden Immortal Sect only allowed twenty people in, but it seemed they had arranged several ticket points.

"Entering an immortal ruin isn't easy. Many Immortal Seedlings never get the chance to enter once in their lifetime. You wouldn't want to go in this time and come out empty-handed, would you? If you follow my orders, you'll have a share of the spoils."

Fang Chen thought for a moment before gently nodding. "Alright, I'll follow your orders, Brother Wu."

"Good. A wise man knows what's best," Wu Tai said, patting Fang Chen's shoulder lightly.

Satisfied, he ran off to tell the others the same thing.

A month passed.

The immortal ship suddenly stopped in a sea where nothing could be seen. The waters were eerily calm, with no sign of any islands around.

"We're the first to arrive," Steward Wang said, smiling as he looked at the distant void.

As soon as his words fell, four immortal ships slowly approached. Each ship carried more than twenty people. The groups seemed to be familiar with one another, and many cultivators started chatting across the ships. Fang Chen observed quietly; it appeared that apart from Miao Yan, there were also many cultivators in the Middle Three Realms among those entering the Pitu Ruins.

A robust middle-aged man on one of the ships shouted when he saw Wu Tai, his brow furrowing at the sight of him. "Third Brother, you're here too?"

"Oh, Big Brother, what a coincidence! I'm here to enter the Pitu Ruins as well," Wu Tai said, seemingly just noticing the man and acting surprised.

The muscular middle-aged man looked at Wu Tai indifferently. After a few glances, he didn't respond further, turning to speak with those beside him.

At that moment, the void in front of everyone suddenly parted like a curtain, releasing an overwhelming torrent of spiritual energy that made the immortal ships rock violently.

The crowd fell silent and stared curiously at the scene. Through the parting of the void, dozens of figures emerged, escorted by Golden Immortal Sect cultivators. They appeared disheveled, their faces showing a mixture of uncertainty and distress.

"Those are the previous batch of Immortal Seedlings who had entered," Wang Steward explained with a knowing glance. "Yang Qing and the others should be from an earlier batch, perhaps even one or two batches ago."

Fang Chen observed quietly, his expression growing solemn. Among this group, one person clearly exuded the aura of a Dao Union Realm cultivator, but they were missing an arm, blood dripping from the stump.